Barking Up the Wrong Tree
by Greendogg
Summary: A series of adventures about a certain group of mutts.
1. Camping Out

**Note & Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Hasbro Studios. Any other references belong to Disney, Pixar and so on. Keep in mind this is just the introduction/prologue. Anyway…here's the newest story for 2015!**

_October 10__th __– 8:30pm_

It was a cool Saturday night in Nevada. The desert sky was clear and just right for watching a meteor shower. Several bright streaks of pearl white light passed overhead in the pitch black darkness.

"Wow! Did you see that meteor go by?" Miko asked.

"I sure did." Raf answered.

The two of them were currently looking up towards the sky.

"You two are getting a taste of what your parents used to do on nights like this." Said Ratchet.

"You're also about to get a taste of the flu if you don't put your jackets on." Arcee pointed out.

Miko and Raf got the hint and grabbed their jackets.

"Ok, the tent's up…finally." Jack announced as he stepped out of the black and blue tent.

"After three tries?" Miko replied in a dull tone.

"Give me a break, I haven't been on too many camping trips." said Jack.

While Miko and Raf had no trouble setting up their tents, Jack had some…technical difficulties with his.

"Uh-huh." Miko muttered.

"Sure was nice our folks let us camp out,"

Both Jack and Raf nodded in agreement. The three of them had heard about the meteor shower earlier that month and decided camping overnight would be a great idea. They were currently in the pasture of an old horse ranch that had been deserted for years. It wasn't too far from Auto-dog H.Q. which made the place easy to find and get to. Joining them on the camping trip were of course, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Deciding to take a break, Optimus also ventured out with them. Ratchet however, wasn't keen about camping but came along anyway after Arcee had talked him into it. Also out with them were Wheeljack and Smokescreen. They had brought what had been needed for camping out. Tents, flashlights, sleeping bags and snacks. Not far away, Raf's telescope was set up, allowing them to have a closer look at the meteors.

"Hey, Raf your friends up in Maine are camping out tonight too aren't they?" Jack asked.

"Cody and Frankie? Last time I checked…yeah." Raf answered.

Not long ago, Raf had spoken with Cody Burns and Francine (also known as Frankie) Greene via Skype. The three of them had been friends ever since they met one summer at a computer programming workshop in Kennebunk, Maine a year ago.

"So, they're watching the meteor shower too?" Bulkhead asked.

"With the Rescue mutts?" Miko added.

"Yep," was Raf's reply.

"Ya know, I used to be a Rescue mutt too." Arcee confessed.

Jack, Miko and Raf sat there with their mouths hanging open, even Smokescreen was stunned.

"Get out!" Miko exclaimed.

"What'd you do?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, were you a fire dog like Heatwave?" Raf said, chiming in.

"Fire dog? Come' on Raf, there's no way Arcee could be a Fire dog, she's not even a Dalmatian." Said Miko.

"Since when is there a rule that all fire dogs have to be Dalmatians?" Jack asked.

Miko thought about saying something but decided not to.

"I thought so." Said Jack.

"Can we get back on topic, here?" Smokescreen asked.

The young gray Neopolitan Mastiff wanted to know more about Arcee.

"Yeah, so you really were a Rescue Mutt?" Raf continued.

"I sure was, that…was before I moved to Jasper." Arcee answered.

"Whoa, could you tell us about some of your adventures?" Miko asked.

"Aw, none of the guys want to hear that story again, do you?" Arcee said, looking towards her teammates. Four of the male auto-dogs sat on the opposite end of the campfire while, Jack, Miko and the others were closer to Arcee.

"What are you talking about?" Bulkhead asked, tilting his head.

"We've only heard it once," Ratchet pointed out.

Arcee shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know."

"Please?" Raf begged.

The female lurcher glanced at him and the others, all of them had a pleading look in their eyes. Letting out a loud sigh she gave in.

"All right, grab a seat."

The young humans and auto-dogs smiled did as they were told and moved closer, waiting to hear what Arcee had to say. She couldn't help but smile, her tail wagging slightly, the kids did remind her of the students she taught back home. Ratchet and the other male auto-dogs' ears perked up slightly. Despite having heard this before, none of them objected to listening to the story a second time. Wheeljack chuckled, sitting back on his haunches. The black and white Cavalier King Charles Spaniel found the whole thing to be rather funny.

"This oughta be good," said Bulkhead, his bushy malamute tail was wagging.

"Will you pipe down?" Ratchet barked, his tan and white fur bristled slightly.

Bulkhead's tail stopped wagging as he looked at Ratchet nervously before turning his attention to Arcee.

"Were you always a Rescue mutt?" Raf asked.

"Nope," Arcee answered.

"Oh snap," said Miko.

Raf sat there with the others listening to the story.

"This is gonna be a long night."

**(Some of the lyrics in the theme song have been changed to fit the story.)**

_**"A routine stroll with four Mutts in stasis,**_

_**Years later, awoke in the strangest of places.**_

_**Earth was their home now, and in addition,**_

_**Optimus Prime made a decision:**_

_**'Learn from the humans, help and protect,**_

_**Live in their world, earn their respect.**_

_**A family of heroes will be your allies,**_

_**To others remain canines in disguise!'**_

_**Rescue Mutts, roll to the rescue!**_

_**Humans in need, heroes indeed!**_

_**Rescue Mutts, roll to the rescue,**_

_**Rescue… Mutts!**_

_**With Cody to guide them and show them the way,**_

_**Rescue Mutts will be saving the day.**_

_**Rescue Mutts, roll to the rescue,**_

_**Rescue Mutts!"**_

**More to come…**

**And that's the prologue. Anyway, the date mentioned in the story is a reference to the launch date of the Hub which is where Pound Puppies, Rescue bots and other shows were originally broadcasted before the Hub ended its run in October 2014 just 3 days after its 4****th**** anniversary and switched to Discovery Family. Other references & quotes**_**: Rosanne episode, 'Toto, We're not in Kansas Anymore'**_** and **_**Cats and Dogs.**_** If anyone asks about the Rescue bots theme song, there are parts of this story that involve characters from Rescue bots as well as Transformers Animated, G1 and Transformers: Gobots. Anyway, the first chapter will probably be up next weekend. Until then, feel free to check out my other Transformers stories: Working Dogs, Remember that Day? Is there a Dog in the House? and Pacific Coast Highway.**

**Stay tuned!**

**Reviews are appreciated…**


	2. Story note

**Hey folks...if anyone was expecting a chapter update, I apologize for the wait, was originally going to California last week but the trip ended up getting moved to July, main reason being I was feeling under the weather. So…moving on…just thought I'd post a note about my Transformers Canine series. I'm not going into too much detail because a few things will be explained later in the actual story. Anyway… read on.**

**Terms & species used in the series.**

**Rescue mutts: **Dogs specifically trained in various types of rescue and emergency response work. Many tasks involving jobs related to natural disasters. Although a Rescue mutt isn't limited by breed, the job title has a long history of being held by medium and large canines from the hound group, herding group, working group, terrier group, sporting and non-sporting groups. Dogs of a mixed background (i.e. Border collie/Jack Russell terrier) have also been on rescue teams. Teams can be as small as four or large groups of up to twelve, often lead by an alpha male or female.

**Canis-tron: **The home of the Auto-dogs, Decepticons and other canine species.

**Canis-tronian: **Term applies to native species and such from Canis-tron including the following: Auto-dogs, Decepticons, Rescue mutts, Constructicons and Dino-mutts. Auto-dogs, Constructicons and Rescue mutts are considered more like domestic dogs in nature while most Decepticons are feral, once domestic but gradually returned to their ancestor's wild canine behavior, others are actual wild species consisting of wolves, coyotes, foxes and so forth. Dino-mutts are completely made up of other canines such as Dingos, African wild dogs and wolves and live in rural areas as opposed to a metropolitan setting.

**Auto-dogs & Decepticons:** Both make up two subspecies of Canis-tronians, Auto-dogs mainly live in the northern territories and metropolitan areas including Crystal city. The southern territory is more rural and populated mainly by Decepticons which includes the city of Vos. The groups once co-existed until a reduced number in natural resources caused them to separate.  
>As a result, entering either territory without permission is prohibited with the exception of rescue teams and constructicons. Both packs had evacuated Canis-tron for a number of years until repairs to their home could be done and the landscape had recovered from damage caused by drought and other disasters.<p>

**Constructicons: **Consisting of various breeds bred and trained for work, usually handle the task of constriction related jobs.

**Dino-mutts: **A pack of wild Canis-tronians, though they are considered a separate subspecies, they have been classified with the Auto-dogs. Due to their small number, they are considered rare. Well known for their strength and endurance, but prefer to live in places where interacting with other Canis-tronians are minimal.

**Go-mutts: **The original team that started the Rescue mutts, the group consisted of five members which was later extended.

**And that's it for now…hope it explains a few things.**

**Got any other questions, just post them in a review or send them via message…again…It might be a week or so before I update.**

**Stay tuned!**


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